Moriah and the Temple Mount

1 Kings 8:1-21

1Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, with all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel, to king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Yahweh’s covenant out of David’s city, which is Zion. 2All the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3All the elders of Israel came, and the priests picked up the ark. 4They brought up Yahweh’s ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. The priests and the Levites brought these up. 5King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle, that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. 6The priests brought in the ark of Yahweh’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the cherubim’s wings. 7For the cherubim spread their wings out over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above. 8The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary; but they were not seen outside. They are there to this day. 9There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10It came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled Yahweh’s house, 11so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house. 12Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 13I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 14The king turned his face around, and blessed all the assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel stood. 15He said, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David your father, and has with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17“Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 18But Yahweh said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19Nevertheless, you shall not build the house; but your son who shall come out of your body, he shall build the house for my name.’ 20Yahweh has established his word that he spoke; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 21There I have set a place for the ark, in which is Yahweh’s covenant, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”